Darling in the Franxx: Coming Back Again
by Dio Brando XVII
Summary: "One day. For sure." The words of Hiro and Zero Two echo through the cosmos as their souls travel back to the world on which they fell in love. As their souls arrive on Earth, so begins their reincarnate's adventure of getting to know each other and themselves. But they are not the only ones who have returned from the dark expanse of outer space. May contain violence and lemons.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Notes:**

 **Hey guys! SURPRISE (for those of you coming from my Familiar of Zero fanfiction)! New fanfic! I have just finished watching Darling in the Franxx and I must say, I love that show. I love it so much, in fact, that I decided to start a fanfiction about it. I'm not entirely sure which way it will go, but I hope you find it enjoyable. HOWEVER, be aware that this fanfiction comes AFTER my Familiar of Zero fanfiction priority wise for the time being. Until that one is finished, don't expect consistent posting. Oh! One more thing! I do have another fanfiction being planned. It is for a much larger anime series, so it takes a lot more time to work out. But I hope it's worth it. Anyway, I hope you like this first chapter. It will be a little laid back since it's an introduction, but bear with me for a while.**

 **Chapter 1: And A New Story Begins**

"Hiro-chan! Where are you?" A woman said.

She had brown hair and teal eyes. She was of moderate height and wore a warm smile on her face. She was wearing rather plain clothes since she was in her home. She walked around the home, looking for her son.

Eventually, she arrived at the home's study. She would often find him in that room, reading all the books she had about the past and how her ancestors fought off an alien attack with machines called Franxx, which were created using their former enemies, the Klaxosaurs.

He always took particular interest in learning about his namesake, Code 016, more commonly known as Hiro. He found great admiration in how he showed great devotion by sticking with his partner, Zero Two, not because of any work related bond, but out of an emotion he had never been taught when he was raised, but learned from the first time he met Zero Two. Love.

"There you are, Hiro-chan." His mother said. "It's late. You should rest."

"I want to know more about Hiro-san." The six year old boy said.

"You can read all you want about history during the day." She said, picking him up and taking him to his room. "With how much you love the past, you should be a historian."

"No!" The boy said, pouting his face.

"Oh? Then what do you want to be when you grow up, Hiro-chan?" She asked, tucking him in bed.

"I wanna be a Franxx pilot like Hiro-san! I wanna be a Parasite!" He said, holding a toy figurine of the legendary Franxx Strelizia.

"That age is long over, sweetheart." She said, brushing his hair.

"I'll find a way to be like him..." He said, slowly falling asleep.

"Sweet dreams, Hiro-chan." His mother said, turning off his light and closing his door as he finally fell asleep.

The next morning, Hiro was up early in the morning, quickly going back to his parent's study to read more about the Franxx. By the time his parents woke up, he had already torn through a history book, memorizing everything he could about the events that occurred nearly three centuries ago.

Eventually, his father, a man of moderate heights, blue eyes, and brown hair, walked into the study. He watched his soon look feverishly over the variety of textbooks stacked on the several bookshelves in the warmly lit room.

"Hiro-kun, we're going into the city today, remember?" He said.

"Yes, Papa." The boy responded, now looking at the bookshelf full of books.

"I'll let you choose one book to take with you." His father said, rubbing his son's head. "You should go get ready. Your mother and I will be waiting."

His father exited the room, leaving Hiro to choose a book to take with him. He had already read through many of the historical books in the room, however, one book in particular stood out to him for some reason.

It was titled _The Beast and the Prince,_ a rather romantic story book about a girl who was a monster falling in love with a prince. It really wasn't the kind of thing he would read. He never took a liking to story books, always choosing non-fictional historical books instead. But this one somehow called out to him.

Before he knew it, the book rested in his palms, beckoning for him to open it. However, before he could, he remembered that his parents were waiting for him, so he quickly got dressed in a pair of shorts and a white shirt with an orange V shaped stripe on it.

He quickly ran to his parents, who were waiting outside next to their car. He handed his mother the book he decided to take with him, which took her rather by surprise. Once she got over her surprise, she put the book in her handbag and got into the car's passenger seat. Hiro jumped into the back seat, then the family drove towards the massive city that they could see over the horizon from their countryside home.

"What book did you pick, Hiro?" His father asked.

"It's a picture book I found." Hiro replied.

"Ah, that book." His father said. "I found it while I was at the Mistilteinn Historical Lake. Some say that its illustrations were done by Zero Two herself. That's all just speculation though."

"I can't wait to read it..." Hiro said, wondering if he could learn anything about Zero Two or Hiro from the book.

 **The City of Mistilteinn**

In the evening of that day, a small family walked on the streets of the human capital or Mistilteinn. A girl whose hair bore the color of the blooming cherry blossom petals in the air looked through the windows of the many building with awe, marveling at the many products humans had created.

Her cyan colored eyes twinkled when they reflected the beautiful lights of the city. As she walked with her parents down the sidewalk, something in a window caught her eye. A silver tiara with two red, horn like protrusions on them.

"Mama! Mama!" She exclaimed, tugging on her mom's sleeve.

"What is it, sweety?" She replied.

"I want that, Mama!" She said, pointing at the tiara in the window.

"I'm sorry, but not today, love." Her mother replied.

The girl pouted at her mother, feeling very upset.

"Now now, sweety." Her father said with a smile. "How about we take you to the park to make up for it?"

"Fine..." The little girl said, still pouting.

By the time they arrived at the park, night had already fallen. The massive cherry blossom tree at the center of the park was illuminated by several lights, making it look quite divine. The little girl smiled wide when she saw it, making her parents feel happy.

When they parked their car, the girl immediately jumped out of it, gasping with joy at the sight of the pink flower petals that adorned the tree.

"Come, sweetheart." Her mother said, signaling her daughter to follow her into the park.

The little girl nodded and ran ahead of her mother, making her parents have to rush to keep up with her. The little girl's quick pace turned into running as she got closer and closer to the tree's beautiful flower petals.

"Stop running! You'll fall!" Her mother exclaimed.

"I'll be fine!" The girl said.

Just as she finished saying this, she tripped over one of the tree's roots that grew out of the ground. She fell flat on her face, scraping her knees on the ground in the process. She slowly tried to get up, but was in a bit of pain.

"Ow..." She said to herself.

As she said this, she saw that someone offered her their hand to help her up. It was a small hand, so she knew that it was a child like her.

"You okay?" The person asked.

When she looked up, she saw that it was a young boy the same age as her. His black shaggy hair blowing in the wind and his rich blue eyes filled with concern over her own well being.

"Who are you?" She asked as she accepted his hand.

"Me?" He asked as he pulled her up. "My name is...Hiro."

 **Author's Notes:**

 **Well there you have it! My first chapter of my second ever fanfiction. I know it didn't introduce any new material and it was kind of short, but I thought that was a better way to start than jumping into something new immediately. I hope you enjoyed it! I'll update with a new chapter soon. Tell me what you think in a PM or Review. Thank you, and see you next time!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

"Hiro?" The girl said, staring at the blue eyed boy in front of her.

"Yeah..." He said.

His cheek flushed red when he got a good look at her face. Her long flowing hair matched the color of the flower petals in the air. He thought her cyan eyes were extremely unusual, but also extremely beautiful.

"It's rude to stare." She said after a while.

When he realized he was staring, he immediately sat back down and began to read the book he brought with him. He was painfully aware that the girl was still there, making it hard for him to concentrate on the illustrations.

"What's that book?" She asked.

"It's a picture book I got from home." He replied, still not looking at her.

"Can I read it with you?" She asked, already sitting next to him.

"S-Sure." He said, still blushing.

He opened the book to the first page and they slowly began to read the story. Hiro was embarrassed to be reading such a romantic book. With a beautiful girl next to him, no less. However, as he kept reading the book, he somehow felt a sense of happiness and relief that she was there with him.

When they reached the last page, they were surprised to see a very poorly made drawing of the prince. It made them laugh as they wondered why such a bad drawing was in a book filled with beautiful illustrations.

In the bottom right corner of the page, there was some writing that the girl noticed after they stopped laughing at the illustration.

"My beloved darling..." The girl said to herself.

When she spoke the last word in the sentence, her head began to start hurting. It was an immediate sharp pain that only lasted for a few seconds. When Hiro turned to look at her, she was staring at him with a blank face.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

"Darling..." She said quietly.

"What?" He asked with confusion.

In only a few seconds, she seemed to snap out of whatever trance she had been locked into. She seemed very tired, with her body falling limp and her laying her head on his shoulder.

"H-Hey. What are you doing?" He asked.

But she had already fallen asleep. She looked very peaceful, so Hiro decided to let her rest. She only slept for a few minutes before waking up. She immediately got off of him when she realized she had slept on his shoulder.

"Sorry!" She said, bowing towards him.

"It's fine." He replied. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah." She replied.

At this time, Hiro's parents came to take him home.

"I have to go." Hiro said. "It was nice to meet you."

"It was nice to meet you too." She said, showing him a bright smile.

He blushed when he saw her smile and started to walk towards his parents. Before leaving, however, he turned back towards her.

"What's your name?" He asked.

"Kūkyo Ni. You can call me Kūkyo." She said.

"Kūkyo. That's a nice name." He said. "See you later!"

With that, he left with his parents to go back to their home in the countryside. On their way back, the girl Hiro met in the park was the only thing he could think about..

"So, Hiro. Who was that girl?" His father asked.

"Oh, just a girl I met. Her name is Kūkyo." Hiro replied.

"She was cute, right?" His mother said, teasing her son.

"Y-Yeah." He replied, his face flushing red.

As they enjoyed their conversation, they noticed that the ground suddenly began to shake. It wasn't very severe at first, but soon became quite violent. Hiro's father pulled over on the side of the road, waiting for the shaking to end.

After several minutes of earthquake, the shaking finally stopped, leaving Hiro in a vast amount of fear. He hugged his mother, waiting for her to explain what happened.

"What was that?" His mother asked his father.

"I...don't know." He said

 **Human Command Centre: Mistilteinn Branch**

A red haired woman with teal-green eyes quickly walked through the hallways on the top floor of a tall building in Mistilteinn. She was holding a stack of papers close to her chest as she hurried to a command room, wearing a worried expression on her face.

When she entered the room, several massive screens that spanned across the room from floor to ceiling displayed a representation of the crust of the Earth. There were several disturbances being displayed in the Earth across the world.

She quickly walked to the side of a man with very short hair and a scarred right eye. He wore a constant serious expression and seemed extremely concerned.

"What's happening, Hachi?" She asked.

"There have been simultaneous earthquakes around the world." He said. "We are investigating their cause."

"Could it be because of our past use of magma energy?" She asked.

"We don't think so. The planet seems to be recovering well." He replied.

As they spoke, an alarm sounded throughout the room.

"What's happening?" Hachi asked one of the engineers in the room.

"It seems we are detecting activity from the dormant Klaxosaurs." She replied.

"They're waking up?" Nana asked herself.

"This must be what caused the earthquakes. But why?" Hachi said.

"You don't think...those two failed do you?" Nana asked.

Hachi didn't respond to her question since he also asked himself the same thing. If indeed Hiro and Zero Two failed to destroy VIRM, the humans no longer had Franxx to fight back. Of course, even if they did, they had no one who could pilot them.

As he thought to himself, another earthquake shook the massive underground complex which housed the command center. He held Nana, stopping her from falling down from the intense shaking. When it finally stopped, they could see that the Klaxosaurs were starting to move closer to the surface.

"How will we respond?" Nana asked.

"It's safe to assume that if the Klaxosaurs are becoming active, then they are reacting to some kind of stimulus." Hachi said, looking at the wall of screens. "There is no strange activity being reported from within the planet, so my best guess is they are reacting to something from space."

"Could it be VIRM?" Nana asked.

"The satellites that orbit the planet have not detected any alien presence." One of the engineers said.

"We should not rule out the possibility of VIRM returning." Hachi said. "I believe we ought to prepare for a worst case scenario."

"The Franxx program was discontinued once we stopped using magma energy." Nana said. "If it is VIRM, we have no way to defend ourselves."

"Not necessarily..." Hachi said. "The Franxx from back then are useless now. We no longer have magma energy, but if we can find a way to create Franxx without the use of that energy..."

"Such a thing is not possible." Nana said. "Using wind power to fuel the Franxx was a failed experiment."

"We have found a way to create rechargeable batteries with sufficient power and range to power the Franxx. The batteries aren't perfect, but we can develop them further." Hachi said. "If these Klaxosaur's movement is a sign, then we must take any steps necessary."

"To make children use such machines again..." Nana thought rather sadly.

"It is necessary to ensure humanity's survival." Hachi replied.

"We do not even know if VIRM is returning. This is all speculation." She said.

"It is better to be safe than sorry." He replied. "Have funding for the electric Franxx project increase. If the Klaxosaur activity means anything, they may be necessary in the future."

"And how we go about recruiting pilots?" She asked.

"Monitor the students in each of the world's sectors between ages five and nine." He replied. "Those that exhibit extraordinary ability will be taken for training."

"I understand..." Nana replied, although she was still against the idea.

She walked away to begin preparing to recruit pilots. As she walked through complex's hallways, she passed by a row of large windows. Through them, she could see a massive assembly line, each with some part of a Franxx in production.

It gave her flashbacks of the fight for Earth so long ago and the squad of kids she held so dear. Despite not wanting a repeat of those events, she pushed those memories out of her head and continued onward to follow her orders, beginning the process of organizing recruits to pilot the humanoid machines.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Hiro groggily walked out of his shower early in the morning on the first Monday of September. He had been woken up a few minutes earlier by his mother because today would be the beginning of his primary school education. This was something he was against, mostly because he knew that at least in first grade, the school would have nothing to teach a boy as well read as he was.

Despite the protests he so desperately gave to his parents, he had no choice but to attend. He put on his uniform, which was identical to the ones worn by Franxx pilots centuries ago, then he and his parents left for the school.

It was a large, white, three story building with large windows. It was located near the museum dedicated to the old Franxx program. Even from the school, Hiro could see the preserved chassis of the Squad 13 Franxx.

After waving goodbye to his parents as they drove to their workplaces in the city, he walked past the crowd of new students to his classroom. Only two other kids were in the classroom. One was a boy with short and shaggy ginger hair with green eyes and freckles. He was rather loud and extroverted, arguing with the other student about where to sit.

The other was a girl with blonde hair that reached her shoulders and deep blue eyes. She seemed more polite than the boy was, but also remarkably stern for her age. Hiro chose to ignore the argument they were having and sat at the back of the class, not wanting to bring any attention to himself.

As he waited, more and more students came into the class and took their seats. As he read the history book he brought with him, someone sat next to him. It was the same girl from earlier, wearing the school's female uniform, similar to the red uniform worn by Zero Two so many years ago.

"Hi Hiro." She said, looking extremely tired. "Its been a while."

"Oh...yeah." He replied, not looking up from his book.

"Is that a school book?" She asked.

"No. It's mine." He replied, starting to feel uncomfortable as she leaned closer to look at the book.

Just before he was about to tell her to move away, the classroom's teacher walked into the class. It was a woman with waist length dark olive hair that was tied into several thin braids. She had rather tan skin and dark brown eyes. As she set her books on her desk, the class observed her quietly.

"Hello, children!" She finally said. "My name is Ms. Seikatsu. I'm pleased to be your teacher this year. Please tell me your names."

As all the students in the class introduced themselves, Hiro was thinking of how incredibly awful his day was going. Worse still, he knew each day would be like this for the foreseeable future. As he thought to himself, Kūkyo poked him.

"What is it, Kūkyo?" He asked.

"Mind telling us your name, young man?" His teacher said.

"Oh, sorry. My name is Hiro. I apologize." He said, bowing towards her.

"I see this class has bored you already." She said.

"I'm sorry." He said again.

"Well, if you wish for a more interesting class, I'm sure you would like to know about the special prize that you will get should you perform well." She said, now referring to the entire class. "The ten students who do very well will all be taken on a field trip."

"A field trip?" They all seemed to ask at once.

"Yes. You will be taken to a very beautiful place called the Garden." She said. "There, you'll have the chance to learn even more."

"What do you mean?" Kūkyo asked.

"You who are at the top of your class will be tested once this school year is over." She continued. "Depending on your score, you will then have new curriculum laid out for you to help you grow."

"What does that mean?" One of the students asked.

"It means you'll be taught all sorts of things. I know a few of you love history." She said, looking at Hiro. "You will have the opportunity to learn more about what happened a long time ago, for example. Who knows? You may even get to sit in an actual Franxx."

Her last sentence resonated with Hiro's innate obsession with the Franxx. He started to day dream about what it would be like to actually see the very seats that the old Parasites used to sit in.

After she explained their special prize, he decided that he might as well do well so that he could go somewhere more interesting. For the next several months, he completed his assignments with diligence. He also made sure to do extracurricular activities, particularly soccer, so that he would be better distinguished.

He also managed to make friends, although he was still very introverted. On the final day of school, he and his small group of friends walked down the hallways to find the large wall that listed the top scoring students of each classroom.

"You know, Kūkyo, if you spent more time studying instead of eating candy, you might have been in the top ten." Hiro said as they looked for their names on the bored.

"You make it sound like you already know I did badly." She replied.

"Yeah, not all of us are super smart like you, Hiro." One of his friends said, the boy he first saw in his class.

"I'm not super smart, Tamaki." He said. "I just do my work."

"You don't do anything but work." Said the other girl from Hiro's first day.

"You're not that much different, Fumiko." Hiro said, finally finding his name.

As he would expect, he was the number one student in his class. He scored perfectly in all subjects except for physical education. He also received more points because of his extracurricular activities. In second place was Kūkyo.

This was surprising to Hiro since he never once witnessed her studying. She too had scored perfectly in all of her subjects except for history, which she admitted she didn't care for too much. His friends Fumiko and Tamaki scored sixth and ninth respectively, which seemed to make them fairly proud.

Of course, the only reason Hiro cared about his score was so that he could go to the place called the Garden. As Hiro was beaming from his score, Kūkyo was paying attention to something else. Their teacher for their first grade in school was talking to men in uniforms.

They were armed, so she knew that they must have worked for the government. After a brief discussion, their teacher nodded and the men left. Hiro noticed that Kūkyo was seemingly lost in thought, so he pulled on the sleeve of her arm.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

When she snapped out of her curiosity, she put a lollipop in her mouth and nodded, showing him a smile. He wasn't entirely convinced, but before he could ask again, the school's bell rang. An assembly was held meant to honor the top ten students from the grades 1 to 4.

It was announced that they would be taken on a special field trip, courtesy of the government, who wished to encourage students to do better in school. The students would be departing on a Saturday, giving them eight days to prepare.

They were allowed to bring three items from home with them, since anything they needed would be given to them during their trip. Hiro automatically went to his parent's library, wanting to find an interesting book to take with him.

As he looked at the filled shelves that lined the walls, for some reason, only one book stood out to him. The picture book he read with Kūkyo when he first met her. The memory of reading it with her returned to him. It was a welcome thought, but he quickly pushed it away once he realized he was smiling about it.

The other two items were a figurine of Strelizia and a bracelet given to him by his mother for his birthday. The remaining eight days flew by and soon, he found himself back at his school. He and the other ten students from his class lined up in front of its entrance as they were instructed to do.

At exactly mid day, a large white shuttle landed in front of the school. It was shaped like a large cigar and didn't seem to have any windows or doors. After a few moments, a panel in the side of the shuttle slid away, revealing its interior.

It was very plush and had several bowls of candy inside, making the children's mouths water. Ms. Seikatsu then began to address the students. She simply bid them farewell, telling them to enjoy themselves.

With that, all the kids rushed into the shuttle. All except for Hiro and Kūkyo, who were slower climb into it, although for different reasons. Hiro was simply unsure about what exactly he was stepping into. However, Kūkyo was more concerned with where exactly they were going.

Although she was fairly dense, she was also very observant and began to wonder why they were being treated so specially despite being so young. However, due to still being a child and her intense love for sweets, she hopped into the shuttle and began gorging herself with candy, making the thoughts in her head disappear.

As the shuttle took off, the walls and floor became transparent, allowing them to see the world around them. They were extremely afraid of the height, but became less terrified after a few minutes. Curiously, once they got past their fear, the walls and floor solidified again.

As they continued flying towards their destination, they felt an immense amount of pride and accomplishment, despite not knowing exactly where they were being taken or, more importantly, what they'd have to do.


End file.
